William Byrd Sketches
2013-2014
Assignment
Tricia Swortzel
Write a poem?
WRITE A POEM???
You have got to be kidding,
I can’t write a poem.
My thoughts are so stupid,
They just don’t make sense.
I can’t be a poet.
Oh, this is a mess.
My teacher is crazy.
This class is a joke-
I thought of a rhyme
And that’s the word POKE.
I need twenty lines
And I’ve past halfway there.
I wish there was a better
Cushion on this chair.
Okay, let’s get started;
I wish I was done.
So much trouble
And I haven’t begun.
Love is a Fire
Caleb Tate
Like
Our
Very
Existence,
Is it
Safe?
Are we
Free
In
Realizing
Every
Time
Our lives
Graciously
Invite former
Visitors
Everywhere
We go?
Are we
Really
Made
To
Help?
Barely.
Utterly we
Truly
Sadden
A
Delightful
Living soul.
Yes,
But
Right
Initiative
No longer
Gives
Signs
Portrayed as
Acts of
Independence.
Nothing
Is
Nicer
Than
Having an
End,
Ending with
No bad
Decisions of love.
The 57th Failure
Savannah Biggs
A change in mood
and a change in pace,
yet it's all the same-
everyone is laid to waste.
My comrades are gone;
so are my friends;
with them my brave warrioress
fell without a cowardly flight,
and despite the gift of her life,
we can never lay her to rest.
Your memories will live on,
and your patch will be kept.
Now leave us, living, be-
but promise me,
that you will use your wings
to find your spirits' freedom.
Innocence has been robbed.
Both with lives from the young
and the sacrifice of my former men.
When we return broken
we are mocked by our town.
Without a thought, do we
die only to be shunned by our own kind?
Because we, the fighters, know by hiding, behind a wall,
is not a way to protect.
When we return, crushed-
we must face the fallen's family.
News that would have once brought
sorrow is now an impossible dream.
We are soldiers
who must stay brave for those who cannot fight.
But this powerful facade of mine can finally
sleep with the banished sun and the reign of the moon.
Because when the captain retires for the night,
only then can he weep.
Autumn
Holly Morrison
Autumn, the seasonal display of vibrant hues of fiery reds, oranges, and yellows, is my favorite word. The first markings of autumn have finally arrived once green fades and becomes a plethora of warm hues, of contrasting and complimenting scarlet and gold. Autumn, the season most centralized around nature, allows us to marvel and appreciate its aesthetics. The animals scurry to and fro to prepare for their upcoming hibernation, the leaves languidly and pompously float towards the ground like fiery embers waiting to illuminate the earth - the temperature slowly declines in anticipation of winter. Once it is officially fall, we can fervently anticipate carving orange pumpkins, inhaling apple cider, guising on Halloween, gathering on Thanksgiving, and breathing in that distinctive scent of autumn: the fragrance of fall is an enigmatic brew of cinnamon, apples, and decaying leaves.
In correlation to this grand season of coppery gourds, scarlet apples, and golden leaves, Virginia is the exemplary destination to dramatize this shifting of seasons. It offers a location that is bombarded and surrounded by foliage, making one feel as if they are drowning in an abyss of leaves, fortified by a dense forest. The cornucopia of trees accents the shifting colors; the wildlife emphasizes the fact that humans are not the only creatures who inhabit Virginia.
The Mirror
Erika Turner
I watched her walk away from life, from love;
I could see it in her eyes. The world, look!
It poisoned her, wrapped her heart like a glove,
See, the world, it doesn’t care what it took.
I watched her die everyday before me.
She stood there looking for answers to life-
If only she knew about standing fees-
She came to me amid struggle and strife;
She came and stood and died. Crying. Wanting.
And I could only watch as she faded.
She, a ghost, and her life, a dull haunting
Please, pick yourself up! Why are you jaded?
Sitting here with me, you’ve wasted much time.
Stop putting on that mask! You’re not a mime.
Now, you stand here, shattered, almost broken
You wanted this, right? A painful token.
Chamberlynn Bruner
Chamberlynn Bruner
Emilie Hughes
Emilie Hughes
Bailey Mann
Jordan Dalton
Mollie Woods
Rachel Eberhardt
LOVER OH LOVER
Rachel Mann
Fire in our hearts creates teas in our eyes.
Every young man then cries for his brother,
And hopes have been lost by fear in disguise.
Yet each and every brother is a lover.
Lover, oh dear lover—where did you go?
Brother came home, but mama was gone.
Lover of lover’s broken heart may show.
Unknown mothers only sand this song.
How many lovers does it take to kill,
Saving lives before another dies,
A life that began with a heart beat still.
Leaving children with tears in their eyes.
Brother of brother, do you see that show?
Because my mama let the lovers go.
Jealous?
Rachel Mann
Sticks and stones may break my bones—
This heart ache still remains the same,
I heard you judge me frame,
Because it’s not always the same,
And now you’re the one playing mind game—
But I’m the one who should feel shame.
The fear of being loved set in,
Because being loved can only be from him.
So you push me away
Because you feel astray,
But I found God,
And you sobbed.
Leaving sucha hypocrite afraid.